


broken, but still good

by lesbianbeau (lauraelas)



Category: It Lives in the Woods (Visual Novel), PlayChoices
Genre: Everybody Lives, Except Noah lol, Gen, Gender-Neutral MC, Nightmares, Pre-Epilogue, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 14:49:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13661229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lauraelas/pseuds/lesbianbeau
Summary: “Well,” says Ava, breaking the silence, “the gang’s back together. Again. This better not be the part where we group hug and take turns crying on each other’s shoulders.”In the immediate aftermath of Redfield, seven friends pull together.





	broken, but still good

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since i was disappointed by ilitw’s ending (i’m booboo the fool and sacrificed mc lmao), i went ahead and finished up the fic i started writing some time yesterday. it was getting long so i’m splitting it into two parts!
> 
> mc uses the default name and they/them pronouns, just fyi.

They’re roused from sleep by tapping coming from their bedroom window. Devon cracks open their eyes, groggy but awake. “Al _right_ ,” they mumble. “I’m up, I’m up…”

They swing their legs over the bed, bare feet silent against the hardwood floor, and make their way to the window. To their consternation, they don’t see anyone. They peer outside.

It’s calm and still in their backyard, and yet Devon feels a sense of unease. The shed is dappled in shadow, and the aging tree’s naked branches reach for the sky with long, gnarled fingers. For a moment, Devon thinks they see someone  _in_  the tree, watching them through the branches, but when they blink, there’s no one there.

Devon lets out a breath and thinks of going back to bed…

Something springs up from beneath the window pane. Devon stumbles back, screaming, and falls to the floor.

“Relax,” says Noah, rolling his eyes. “It’s just me.”

Devon blinks at him. Fear turns into embarrassment. It’s only Noah out there. What had they been so scared for, anyway? “Noah? What are you  _doing_  here?”

“Mind if I tell you after you let me in?” Noah rubs his hands together, his shoulders hunched up to his ears. “It’s cold out here.”

They stare at him, silent, then nod. “I… I guess. Hang on.” They get up from the floor and approach the window again. When they go to unlatch the window, however, they freeze.

Noah huffs, annoyed. “What’s the hold up, Devon?”

Slowly, Devon looks up at him. His beanie is jammed on his head, his brown hair in a disarray. He’s wearing a torn up jean jacket over a gray shirt. Nothing out of the unusual.

And yet.

“Noah,” Devon says, “how did you get up here? My bedroom’s on the second story.”

( _No, that’s not it_. There’s something else they’re forgetting, just at the edge of their conscious.)

Noah’s still rubbing his hands together. “Climbed.”

It comes to them, then. All at once. They’ve done this once before, what feels like months ago. But it hasn’t been  _months_ , has it?

Devon’s voice is a fearful whisper. “You… You’re supposed to be dead.”

One second, Noah is on the other side of the window, a disbelieving expression on his face. The next, he’s gone.

Devon stumbles away from the window, their heart pounding in their rib cage, when they feel a presence behind them. Before they can so much as turn around, they’re thrown against the window by an unseen force. They cry out as their back hits the window pane.

Noah towers above them, his face cast in shadow. “You figured it out quickly this time, huh?” The moonlight illuminates his eyes, the brown of his irises bleeding red, until even the whites of his eyes are consumed.

They shake their head, trying to drag themselves away, but there’s nowhere to go. They lean back against the wall. “Noah, please. We’re  _friends_.”

“I thought we were friends too,” he says as he approaches them. His face is suddenly paler, and gaunt. Tendrils of shadow emerge from his body, obscuring his face. Some of the writhing tendrils pull and tear at the air, others reach out towards Devon. “Then you let Jane die. Then you let  _me_  die.”

Tears slip down Devon’s cheeks, blurring their vision. “I never meant for that to happen, I swear,” they whisper. “I never meant for  _any_  of it.”

Redfield stares down at them. “You should have died,” he says in his wheezing, warbled voice. “It should have been  _you_!”

He lunges.

 

* * *

 

Devon sits up in bed with a shout, their arms coming up instinctively to protect their face.

Nothing happens; there’s no pain.

When they lower their arms and open their eyes, they’re the only one in their bedroom. There’s no Noah. No Redfield. Their room is illuminated by the string of fairy lights above their bed; they don’t sleep with the lights closed, not anymore.

Hilda lifts her head up from her paws. She’s been sleeping at the foot of Devon’s bed now, as if she knows everything that happened a week ago. The sight of her eases the knot in their chest, at least a little.

Devon lets out a long, shuddering breath, and lies back on the mattress. Their heart beats a fast, nervous rhythm, sweat clinging to their skin. There’s no way they’re falling back asleep tonight.

They breathe in and out, as slowly as they can, until they don’t feel like clawing their way out of their skin. Then, with a trembling hand, they reach for their cellphone, sitting on their shelf.

Devon opens up the group chat. It takes several tries for them to spell the words right, their hands are shaking so much.

> **Devon:**  Anyone still up?

The response is immediate.

> **Andy:**  Yup
> 
> **Stacy:**  yes
> 
> **Dan:**  Yeah
> 
> **Lily:**  I didn’t sleep at all
> 
> **Ava:**  ditto
> 
> **Lucas:**  Me neither.
> 
> **Ava:**  so this blows
> 
> **Lily:**  At least we don’t have school tomorrow. It’s been closed ever since… well
> 
> **Dan:**  You okay, Devon? Bad dreams?
> 
> **Ava:**  more like nightmares
> 
> **Stacy:**  ava, not helping
> 
> **Devon:**  She’s right though. I haven’t been sleeping that well lately
> 
> **Devon:**  And I know you guys haven’t either
> 
> **Andy:**  Can’t blame us for it. It’s only been a few days.
> 
> **Lily:**  Hey… what if we met up or something?
> 
> **Lucas:**  What, right now??
> 
> **Lily:**  Sorry, nevermind. It was a bad idea
> 
> **Ava:**  my parents wouldn’t let me step a foot outside the house this time of night
> 
> **Ava:**  buuuut i could sneak out
> 
> **Dan:**  I don’t want to make Mom worry, but I could slip out for a bit. I’ll leave a note
> 
> **Andy:**  My leg’s still messed up, so I can’t really walk anywhere…
> 
> **Stacy:**  i could pick u up if u want
> 
> **Andy:**  That works. Thanks.
> 
> **Lucas:**  Alright, looks like this IS happening. Where should we meet up?
> 
> **Devon:**  You could come to my place
> 
> **Dan:**  When are your parents coming back anyway?
> 
> **Devon:**  Like two days. They’re almost done dealing with my aunt’s estate or whatever
> 
> **Andy:**  What the hell? Even after what happened???
> 
> **Devon:**  They asked if I wanted them to come earlier. I told them they could take their time
> 
> **Lily:**  But they’re your parents…
> 
> **Lucas:**  Yeah, you would think they’d be more worried than that.
> 
> **Devon:**  Can we drop it? I don’t really want to talk about it
> 
> **Dan:**  Of course. Then we’ll meet at your place
> 
> **Ava:**  cool l8r
> 
> **Stacy:**  be there in 5 min andy
> 
> **Andy:**  I’ll wait for you outside
> 
> **Devon:**  See you all soon

Devon closes their phone, letting out a breath. They roll onto their back and stare up at the ceiling. Now that they aren’t focused on texting, the silence becomes claustrophobic.

“It’s okay. You’re okay,” they whisper, just so they can hear  _something_  other than the crickets chirping outside. “Everyone will be here soon.”

 _Everyone plays together_ , comes the intrusive thought, sudden and unwelcome. It sounds eerily like Mr. Red. (Or would Jane be more accurate?) ( _God, when will they stop **thinking**?_ )

Devon screws their eyes shut and waits.


End file.
